Innovation Description and Benefit:

The I-70 Cave Springs to Fairgrounds Project was planned to improve safety and reduce congestion in a 4-mile section of the I-70 corridor in St. Charles County. Data showed major congestion and almost 3,000 crashes especially in the interchanges during the 5-year analysis period. One option to reduce the congestion and improve safety was to convert the two-way outer roads to one-way outer roads. The residents and business owners were extremely concerned that this change would significantly alter their community and organized in opposition to the project. MoDOT paused the project to take time to listen to the community, resulting in a new goal of the project: improving local connectivity in addition to safety and mobility. The result was a solution that is estimated to reduce crashes by 40% and congestion by 22% all while enhancing the connections to local destinations.